From the early days of man, there were those that were referred to as gatherers, and then, there were the hunters. And although the origin of the hunter's adventures was one meant for survival, the innate character of mankind still thrived on the sport of the hunt. One of the earlier, and safer forms of the hunt, was fishing, also referred to as angling. Fishing has roots that extend back to as early as 2000 BC in which an ancient Egyptian angling scene depicts men with sticks and lines, as well as nets, seeking their prey. Today, angling as a sport is main-stream with fishing tournaments, sponsored anglers, fishing shows on primetime, and the like.
Another form of hunting that dates back at least to the Stone Age is bow hunting. The oldest arrow heads were discovered in Africa and were dated to be from before 25,000 BC. Scientists have theorized that the bow was created as an off-shoot of the spear-thrower. Somewhere around 25,000-18,000 BC, man began to use fire to further harden his stone arrowheads and added feathers to his arrows in order to improve accuracy. Approximately around 2800 BC, the first composite bow was produced by the Egyptians. This composite bow was made from wood, tipped with animal horn and held together with animal sinew and glue. Unstrung, it resembled a “C” shape and would have required 2 people to string it. The bowstring was made from “catgut” (sheep intestines). The arrows used were extremely light, could be shot 400 yards using the composite bow and would easily penetrate the armor of that time period. The Egyptians used archers on the back of light chariots who were highly trained and skilled and could easily outflank an enemy army with devastating effect.
It shouldn't be all that surprising, that given the adventurous and inventive nature of mankind, that eventually these two sports would be combined. Today, the popular sport of bowfishing has a national organization called the Bowfishing Association of America, which was originally established in 1990 to track of bowfishing tournaments in the United States, and which now lobbies for the rights to bowfish and promote the sport.
Bowfishing is a method of fishing that uses specialized archery equipment to shoot and retrieve fish. Fish are shot with a barbed arrow that is attached with special line, typically to a reel mounted on the bow or elsewhere. Some freshwater species commonly hunted include common carp, grass carp, bighead carp, alligator gar, and paddlefish. In saltwater, rays and sharks are regularly pursued. An even more recent variation in the sport is aerial bowfishing in which the hunter shoots fish as they leap from the water.
Bowfishing equipment generally includes a bow, arrows, line, reels and glasses. Some of the bows used by bowfishermen are simple and do not include any sights—aiming is by line-of-sight judgment down the arrow. There are a couple of types of rests including the hook and roller rest. Most bows have little to no let off and not much draw weight. There are two main types of bows: traditional and recurve bows. The traditional bows are like long bows. In more modern times compound bows came into use. They use a system of pulleys to help the archer. Modern bows can have as much as 120 pounds (50 kg) draw weight. The crossbow is also sometimes used in the sport of bowfishing and has its own advantages including the use of a reel.
The arrows used in bowfishing are typically heavier and stronger than arrows used in other types of archery and are most commonly constructed of five-sixteenth inch fiberglass, but, other arrows can be found to be constructed of solid aluminum, carbon fiber, and carbon fiber reinforced fiberglass. Bowfishing arrows generally lack fletching, as it can cause the arrow to flare to one side or another underwater and they are not required at the relatively short ranges associated with bowfishing. Line is attached to the arrow by tying to a hole in the arrow shaft or through the use of a slide system.
Bowfishing line is often made from braided nylon, Dacron, or Spectra. Commonly used line weights range from eighty to four-hundred pound test, with six-hundred being used when bowhunting for alligators. Line color is normally selected to be lime green, white, or neon orange.
The bows used in bow fishing are similar to the traditional bow but, traditionally have usually been very simple. Most of the bow fishing bows did not include sights and aiming was performed by line-of-sight judgment down the arrow. Most of the bows have little to no let off and not much draw weight. This differs with what one has available and personal preference. There are two main types of bows (a) traditional bows—long bows and (b) recurve bows. In more modern times, compound bows have been used. These compound bows use a system of pulleys to help the archer. Modern bows can have as much as 120 pounds (50 kg) draw weight.
The crossbow has also been used in bow fishing both from above the surface and below the surface of the water.
Several types of reels are commonly used in bowfishing: Hand-wrap, spincast, closed reels and retriever. Hand-wrap reels are the simplest reels consisting of a circular spool that line is wrapped onto by hand and then secured in a line holding slot. When the arrow is shot, the line comes free from the line holder and feeds off the spool. Hit fish are fought and retrieved by pulling the line in hand over hand. Hand-wrap reels are the least effective at fighting arrowed fish, but they can be used in conjunction with a float system to shoot and fight fish. Retriever reels have a “bottle” which holds the line in place. When shot the line comes out either until the shot goes too far and the line runs out or the hunter pushes down a stopping device which can be used to keep a fish from traveling too far. Some retriever reels have slots cut in them and are known as slotted retriever reels. They are more commonly used for alligator, alligator gar, shark and other big game that will take more time to chase down than smaller game fish.
An important aspect to bowfishing is having a good visual of the target. To see the fish in the water on a sunny day, polarized sun glasses are helpful. The polarized lens can cut the glare on top of the water to make it easier to see below the surface. Different tints and lens colors are used depending on the color of water the hunter is fishing in, from darker brown to clearer blue and green. At night glasses are unnecessary, as light is used to see through the water.
Most states allow bowfishing of the so-called “rough” fish. Those are suckers, eels, perch, gars, carp and the like. Gars and carp are the most popular and usually the most plentiful. Carp can be found in almost any body of water, large or small, year round. The best times are during the spawn in spring or after some good rainfall when the water in the shallows is deeper. The only things needed are bow, arrows, and waders. At times the fish can be so involved in spawning, the bowman can walk out among them and shoot. Some bow fishermen use field arrows so that they can just flip the fish onto shore without having to disengage the barbs to get the arrows out.
As the sport of bowfishing continues to grow in popularity, the bow fisherman naturally seeks inventive mechanisms and techniques to improve on the sport, increase the bow fisherman's productivity, and decrease the laborious aspects of the sport. The present disclosure is focused on such an inventive improvement.